Chapter 11 – Marielle
The study was the destination I had in mind as I traded my sleepwear for a dress. But a view of how the moonlight illuminated the beautiful garden made me change my mind.
“I just want some quiet. I’m not going beyond the garden,” I explained to the scar-faced guy who stopped me at the back door.
The air was heavy with the promise of rain, and I hugged myself, wishing I had worn something that offered more coverage.
From the study to the room housing the piano, this garden was a reminder that I was beginning to like too many things in the house.
And there was a tiny hesitation in my mind when I thought of escaping again.
A loud bang startled me.
Was that a gunshot?
I instinctively took a step backward, closer to the house.
It sounded the second time, and I was sure. It was a gunshot.
I turned around, despair filling me as I realized I wasn’t so close to the house.
Then the sounds came in dozens, and I heard heavy footsteps beneath the rumbling thunder.
Running toward the house, I heard a sound close to me. Very close.
My back hit one of the trees that bordered the garden as the man spoke to someone. About me.
The man was right in front of me before I could move a finger.
What do I do? Is this how I die?
He raised his knife with a pleased smirk on his face.
I did the only thing I could do. I screamed.
I woke up with a jolt so violent I had to catch my breath.
The memories that invaded my dream are still as clear as day.
Everything was a blur. It all happened too fast for me to comprehend.
The man falling just a few feet away from me, the sounds of even more gunshots, the rain drenching me, Eduard carrying me to my room.
Recollections of the fury on Eduard’s face as he came looking for me visited me as I sat up. I could still see the blood and bodies of the fallen men over his shoulder as we left the garden.
How could Lucien send his men after me?
The guy who almost stabbed me had said I knew too much.
Of course, Lucien had told me things about his business. Things I hadn’t asked him to explain to me, in the first place. Maybe I shouldn’t have asked him about what he did at all.
But I had promised not to reveal his stuff to anyone else.
I had thought he trusted and liked me enough to tell me all he did. I had told myself I meant something to him because of the way he looked at me.
I’m nothing more than a risk to him now.
My heart dropped.
He would have had his men kill me if Eduard hadn’t protected me.
Eduard.
Getting out of bed, I threw on a T-shirt and joggers.
I had no idea what to say when I did, but what I did know was that I wanted to see him.
He was in the study.
He leaned against one of the low tables at the far end of the room. He looked nothing like a man who had just fought a battle; he was too…normal.
The sleeves of his stained white shirt were rolled up. I wondered if the dried blood on his collar was his or someone else’s.
Our eyes locked, but neither of us spoke. The unsettling silence stretched for a few seconds before I eventually ventured into the room.
“Are you okay?” he asked, his voice cool.
“Yes,” I breathed, folding my arms as I got close to him. “Lucien’s men?”
He gave a single nod.
I perched on a desk to his right. “I know why.”
“What are you talking about?” he inquired, turning partially to face me.
“He told me things. Many things about his…business.”
He didn’t look surprised.
“He told me about his money laundering businesses. He owns a club in Chicago that he uses to launder his money. But the one in Baja is the biggest; he doesn’t just launder his money; he does it for other rich people, politicians, and socialites.
He runs a blackmail ring, too. That event where you took me was also for some blackmailing business. ”
“He told you all this? You said he wasn’t your boyfriend.”
“He wasn’t,” I insisted, unable to keep the disgust out of my voice.
“It’s a wonder that he gave you so many details about his business.”
“That’s not all. When you mentioned that you were the Bratva, it rang a bell.”
“You spoke like it was a name you had never heard before,” he pointed out, raising a brow.
“I was angry. Wanted you to feel unimportant,” I confessed.
The corners of his lips twitched.
“He once told me that he was skimming a lot of money off the Bratva—”
“He did, but we stopped him. We gave him a deterrent. It was years ago. That’s why you’re here,” he cut in.
I shook my head.
“Not the shipment, whatever you stopped years ago. He told me about that. But he’s intercepting some of your suppliers, although I don’t know which suppliers.
He makes a fortune by skimming off your purchases.
He does it in bits but regularly, so you don’t notice.
I remember him drunkenly telling me that he’d run away if the Bratva suddenly came for him. ”
Eduard’s eyebrows furrowed.
“He has a secret route through the desert that he uses to smuggle his stolen merchandise through. He mentioned that it’s difficult to trace because the Arabs have a nearby route, and nobody would think another one was so close to it.”
I sighed, folding my arms tighter as my stomach churned.
“I’ve told you everything he’s ever told me. Now, I’m not anything to anybody.”
When his gaze landed back on me, it was controlled as usual.
“Clearly, he’s not after you just because you might have learnt one or two small things by association. He categorically told you things. Key things about his shady deals. You know what we didn’t know about his secret deals through us. He knows you being here might imply revealing that to us.”
“Well, I just did.” I chuckled sadly.
“You have two choices,” he declared. “Marry me. Or die when the next wave of attack hits.”
No, I didn’t hear that right.
“Marry you?” I repeated, my eyes dilating.
He didn’t flinch.
“Lucien won’t stop,” he stated. “I protect what’s mine.”
As I slid away from the desk and backed away from him, one word echoed in my mind.
Mine.
I opened my mouth but couldn’t find the words. With trembling hands and a racing heart, I left the study.
I felt like a pawn in a game of power and violence. Of all the awkward types of proposals I had imagined, I never thought of anything like Eduard’s.
Could I even call it that?
It was a proposal when there was a choice.
Do I have a choice?
If I refused to marry him and said no to staying with him, I couldn’t protect myself. Lucien’s men would kill me, quite literally.
It was no longer about being a hostage; I was about to be claimed.
***
“Have you made a decision yet?”
Eduard’s voice practically made me jump from behind me in the hallway.
It had been a day since he mentioned marriage.
“You make it sound like I have a choice,” I remarked, turning around to face him.
He didn’t stop walking until our chests were almost touching.
“Technically, you do.”
His eyes gave nothing away as I stared up into them.
“What should I say? Yes? Or I will?”
“Yes should suffice.”
“Let’s do it, then.”
He nodded, stepping back.
“We’ll go to the courthouse after the weekend,” he uttered, his tone leaving no space for negotiation.
“Next week? Have you been planning this?”
“I don’t assume you’re expecting Lucien’s men to wait for you to ease into it, are you?”
That made me swallow, unable to retort.
“I thought so.”
Oh, shit.
***
I watched Agatha as she sieved the juice she’d just made, my mind spinning with different approaches to my announcement.
I would have preferred to tell Agatha alone and leave the dissemination to her, but that was proving to be impossible. Sofia and Mila were sitting opposite me; they never left the kitchen when Agatha was there.
“The one without syrup,” Agatha uttered to Mila, dropping a large bottle on the island between us.
“I’m getting married,” I blurted out, instantly regretting my choice of words. “I…he asked me to marry him. There’s a situation and…we’re getting married.”
Agatha’s pupils dilated as she stared at me.
Sofia let out a delighted squeal, breaking the silence.
“Wait, you’re talking about Sir Eduard, right?” She paused to confirm.
I nodded, my eyes still on Agatha, whose lips were now curved in a slow smile.
Mila stormed out of the kitchen, her hands covering her mouth.
I sighed.
“I love unexpected love stories!” Sofia exclaimed, grinning.
“It’s not…there’s no love involved,” I pointed out, chuckling.
“Marielle, I’m happy for you. I just never thought…” she started.
“That I’d agree to marry the same person I call a heartless criminal,” I chipped in.
“Hmm, that. But the real shock is Sir Eduard deciding to get married,” she revealed.
“She made him change his mind. It happens all the time. Don’t be such a buzzkill,” Sofia remarked, laughing.
“He had no plans of getting married?” I couldn’t stop myself from asking.
“He didn’t. Despite having worked here for years, we don’t know many things about Sir Eduard. But everyone knows his stance on the thought of marriage. He said nothing could make him think of marrying a woman.”
I laughed off my surprise.
“Maybe he’s more interested in men.”
“I’m sure that’s not the case,” she mentioned, chuckling. “Anyway, I’m glad you won’t be trying to escape from us again.”
“How did you even know I tried to escape?”
“Many of Sir Eduard’s men eat here, you know?”
“Right.”
“When did he ask you? And where? Was it in the garden?” Sofia rushed.
“It wasn’t anything romantic. You have nothing to look forward to,” I answered.
Her crestfallen expression was almost amusing.
“Clear the sink, Sofia. You can pester Marielle later,” Agatha directed, before turning to me again. “So, what is this situation? I mean, the situation you mentioned was the cause of the marriage. Are you in any danger?”
“Yes. The marriage is more for protection than…actually, it’s all for protection.”
I didn’t expect the grin that spread across Agatha’s face.
“So, when is the wedding?” Sofia asked without turning around from the sink.
“Next week.”
“So soon! Wow! There’s a lot to do,” she clamored.
“It’s not a whole affair. Just the court, and that’s all,” I pointed out.
***
I almost headbutted Ruslan; he was standing at my door as I stepped out.
“Sorry, I was just about to knock,” he explained, chuckling.
“I’m glad you’re not saying that sorry to a collapsed Marielle.”
“I wouldn’t dare.”
He brought out a phone from his pocket.
My phone.
The sleek, hot pink case shone in my face as he handed it to me.
“I thought he—”
“He asked me to give you this this morning,” he revealed, a small smile on his face. “After he told us that you two were getting married.”
“Oh?”
“Congratulations.”
“I’m sure he told you guys about the logistics of the marriage thing,” I remarked, finally looking up from my phone.
“He didn’t tell us anything more. Boss isn’t a man of many words.”
“I noticed.”
“Also, he said to inform you about your wedding shopping today.”
“I’m going shopping?”
“Not exactly. The shops are coming to you. This afternoon.”
***
As promised, the shops did come home to me. Well, not just shops. A room I hadn’t entered before today was filled with rows of hangers, from wedding dresses to silk underwear.
“Don’t check the price tag,” was Agatha’s mantra as she ushered me in and out of different dresses.
The two pretty women who certainly worked with whichever designer store Eduard had consulted were nice. But that didn’t make it any easier for me to make a choice.
I had been aloof about the whole preparation since it wasn’t particularly a conventional marriage. I wasn’t getting tied to a man who made me feel crazy with happiness. I was getting married to my captor-turned-savior. But then, it was still my damn wedding.
I had been given the chance to buy an expensive wedding dress; I’d do just that.
All the wedding dresses they brought were around my size, so I had too many fitting options to choose from.
Eventually, to Agatha’s mild dismay and one of the women’s disapproval for not being classic enough, I decided on my wedding dress.
It was a not-so-simple lace dress with sheer sleeves and a full, flared skirt that flowed out from the cinched waist. The sweetheart neckline showed just a hint of cleavage and was decorated with tiny silver stones.
It perfectly matched my situation—a dress that radiated luxury without the long train typical of traditional dresses.
After picking underwear, including some for Agatha and Sofia, and two pairs of heels, we were done with the long shopping process.
As I resigned to bed that night, I wanted to share the not-exactly-good news with Kat. But I, of all people, knew she was incommunicado in Spain in order to enjoy every bit of the vacation.
I had no idea how to react to the whole marriage.
I didn’t know if Eduard's scarcity helped or worsened my situation. I knew I had broken his composure once or twice, but that didn’t necessarily mean attraction.
And I’ve heard it countless times that attraction didn’t mean the same thing as liking someone, let alone loving them.
So, what will this marriage look like?
On a more twisted level, what I really wondered about was what it would feel like to be his. When I thought of what it would mean to be his wife, I felt something like anticipation.